Protect Everything You Operate

Whitepaper: Testing Security Mechanisms with IT-OT Scenarios OT Caldera

While testing IT security systems is a well-established field with defined best practices and a wealth of resources, the same cannot be said for Operational Technology (OT). Testing industrial networks is a new frontier, with very little historical data or guidelines available for organizations to rely on. For OT security teams, this lack of prior knowledge makes it more challenging to implement effective testing and ensure network security.
The challenges of testing OT environments are vastly different from those in IT. In IT, systems can be routinely updated and shut down for testing and maintenance. However, industrial networks often run on legacy systems—some of which are decades old—and the operations floor must function continuously, 24/7/365. Disruptions in OT networks can result in catastrophic failures, as they control physical systems that must maintain stable parameters like temperature, pressure, and power levels. In this whitepaper, OTORIO provides a comprehensive guide to testing OT security mechanisms, offering a step-by-step approach to assessing the resilience of operational networks.

- The Process for Testing OT Security Networks:
Understand how OT security networks differ from IT environments, and learn about the unique testing processes required to ensure security without disrupting critical operations.
- Available Tools and Best Practices:
Explore the tools that are available for testing OT security systems, and discover best practices for leveraging these tools in real-world industrial environments.
- OTORIO’s Chosen Tool for Testing:
Learn about the specific tool OTORIO selected—OT Caldera—and why it is well-suited for testing OT security. This open-source tool is designed to simulate real-life attack scenarios on OT environments without causing disruptions, allowing organizations to evaluate their security posture in a safe and controlled manner.
- How to Use OT Caldera for Real-Life Scenarios:
Find out how OT Caldera can be used to run breach and attack simulations in industrial networks, helping organizations identify weaknesses, assess vulnerabilities, and prepare for potential cyber threats.
- Assessing Operational Network Testing Results:
Discover how to interpret the results of operational network testing and gain insights into improving the security of your OT environments based on real-world data.